


For the Greater Good

by thesearethebadlands (thosearethebadlands)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Drama, F/M, Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter), Post - Order of the Phoenix, Post-Order of the Phoenix AU, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-23
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-02-22 06:25:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2497844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thosearethebadlands/pseuds/thesearethebadlands
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nora Selwyn disappeared from the wizarding world fifteen years ago with a heavy heart and a warrant out for her arrest. When the Dark Lord rises again, she must choose between her shadowy past and a new start with the Order.</p><p>Post-OoTP. Slight AU. Sirius/OC.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lindsey Jane Hart

 

Kingsley Shacklebolt sat in the front seat of his Muggle car, parked in a secluded section of the employee car park on Downing Street. It was 8:00am, a bit too early to begin work, and yet there he was: sitting, watching, waiting. After Rufus Scrimgeour's surprise visit to the Muggle political world, the Prime Minister had been very confused and upset—understandably, of course. He hadn't sacked Kingsley quite yet, so he clearly understood the magnitude of the situation. Nevertheless, Dumbledore and Scrimgeour had altered his assignment. This change, however, didn't come about merely because of the Prime Minister predicament.

The only words Snape spoke at the last Order meaning were "He wants Nora Selwyn," but when he said them the whole room changed. Everyone fell silent and looked toward Dumbledore, whose stoic expression had faltered slightly at Snape's announcement.

"We will make arrangements," Dumbledore had finally said after a moment's pause. And with that, Kingsley was put on the case.

Kingsley reached over to the passenger seat and pulled the thick red folder into his lap. He opened it and began thumbing through the seemingly endless pages, as he had done countless times before. But he could never be too careful. It was entirely possible that he had missed a critical detail, some horrid oversight that could bring down the entire operation. He sighed, having reached the end of the stack, and flipped back over to the very first page. A serious young woman with brown hair pulled back and dark blue eyes peered up at him from the paper. She crossed her arms and stared ahead as he began to read, for the umpteenth time:

 

OPEN CASE FILE #32634653478357983

WARRANT # 263460-90-39

WARRANT ISSUED 29-5-1980

CHARGE(S): 2 COUNTS CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER, 10 COUNTS HIGH TREASON, 15 COUNTS MURDER, and 27 COUNTS GRIEVOUS BODILY HARM

Name: Nora Millicent Selwyn

Sex: Female

Date of Birth: April 3, 1960 (age 36)

Place of Birth: London, England, UK

 

Education:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Slytherin House, 1978

St. Mungo's Advanced Healing Academy, 1978 – 1980 (failed to graduate)

 

Employment: Healer's Apprentice, St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, 1978-1980 (terminated)

 

Relations:

Caspar Hammond Selwyn, father (deceased, aged 52)

Morgana Ainsley Selwyn, neé Yaxley (deceased, aged 47)

Caspar Hammond Selwyn, II, brother (deceased, aged 25)

Lionel Yaxley Selwyn, brother (deceased, aged 32)

Daphne Adelaide Selwyn, sister (deceased, aged 19)

Known Associates: Sirius Black (at large)

Bellatrix Lestrange (at large)

Rodolphus Lestrange (at large)

_See addendum for other known associates (total: forty-seven)_

 

Explanation of Charges:

2 COUNTS CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER:  _Conspired to murder two_ _individuals (see addendum)._

10 COUNTS HIGH TREASON:  _Provided magical-medical assistance and knowledge in ten separate incidents to members of a known criminal entity. (see addendum)._

15 COUNTS MURDER:  _Murdered and/or assisted in the murder of fifteen individuals (see addendum)._

27 COUNTS GRIEVOUS BODILY HARM:  _Caused grievous bodily harm to twenty-seven individuals resulting in irreparable physical damage (see addendum)._

 

 

_Selwyn was born on 3 April 1960 to Mr. and Mrs. Caspar Selwyn in London, England, United Kingdom. Her childhood is unremarkable. At age eleven, she began her education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry under Headmaster Albus Dumbledore as customary in Slytherin House. She achieved O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. scores all at Exceeds Expectations or above, with the majority of her scores at Outstanding. Upon graduation from Hogwarts in 1978, Selwyn was accepted to St. Mungo's Advanced Healing Academy and later began an apprenticeship at St. Mungo's Hospital under Healer Josiah Blumenstein. Her academic records and annual apprentice evaluations show excellent understanding and implementation of magical-medical knowledge and procedures._

_Albus Dumbledore approached Selwyn with an offer of membership to the Order of the Phoenix while she was a student at Hogwarts. The details of her allegiance to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and involvement with the Death Eaters are unknown at this time, but participation in illegal activities is documented as earlier as January 1979 (see addendum). Selwyn was a member of the Order of the Phoenix for approximately six months before she permanently left the organization to join the ranks of the Death Eaters._

_Selwyn was charged with the crimes outlined above on 28 May 1980 and a warrant was issued for her arrest on 29 May 1980. She has not been sighted since 1 November 1981, when a credible Department informant witnessed her outside of a Wizengamot courtroom (see addendum). It is not known how Selwyn entered the Ministry of Magic without detection. Her current whereabouts and condition are unknown._

_Nora Selwyn should be considered EXTREMELY DANGEROUS and should not be approached without sufficient supporting personnel and careful tactical planning. Her O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s indicate a high level of intelligence. Her records at St. Mungo's present a similar image. She trained in attack and defense magic throughout her time with both the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters. Her extensive knowledge of and practical experience with magical-medical procedures, although at the apprentice level, enable her to be extremely evasive. She is capable of treating herself for whatever magical maladies may befall her in battle._

_Among her known associates is the fugitive Sirius Black, with whom she had a romantic relationship as an adolescent (see addendum). She may be assisting Black at this time and may have joined efforts with him to further escape apprehension. For this reason, and as evidenced by the severity of the charges brought against her, the Department believes that Selwyn will not hesitate to betray, seriously injure, or kill again. The number of victims of the crimes for which Selwyn has been charged is ESTIMATED. The Department is unaware of the true extent of Selwyn's crimes due to the vast multitude of similar crimes committed by an indeterminate number of people during the War (see addendum). She may be more capable and dangerous than the Department has noted in this file._

 

Kingsley sighed, placed the folder back onto the passenger seat, and rubbed the space between his eyes. The file, although it was his key investigative document, had clearly not been updated in several years. Sirius Black was not on the run with Nora Selwyn. According to Kingsley's own interview with him, Sirius hadn't had any contact with her since the night the Potters died almost fifteen years ago, and he didn't report her to the authorities when he found her.  _Maybe he didn't have the time,_ Kingsley mused. Hours after Sirius met with Nora, he was arrested for the murder of thirteen Muggles and one Peter Pettigrew, and was promptly carted off to Azkaban without a trial.

The file was incredibly inaccurate in another way as well: Nora Selwyn's whereabouts were no longer a mystery. Sometime after 1 November 1981, Nora Millicent Selwyn the Healer-turned-Death Eater became Lindsey Jane Hart, a senior secretary in the office of the Prime Minister of England who sat at a desk ten meters from his own.

Kingsley looked up at the sudden sound of an approaching car. He expected it to be Nora; she always arrived at 8:15am and parked in the same secluded spot every morning, without fail. He'd been tailing her for months now and he knew her routine intimately. In recent weeks, he'd started parking his car in the same row she did, arriving just a few minutes before. He would watch her climb out of her car, walk to the lift, and disappear behind its cool silver doors before exiting his own vehicle. Then he would examine her car carefully with all manner of detection charms, making note of anything unusual. There hadn't been anything unusual yet—perhaps today was the day.

But Nora was not behind the wheel of this particular car, Kingsley quickly discovered. It was Javier, one of the summer interns. Kingsley lifted his hand in a brief greeting as Javier drove past. He folded his hands in his lap and closed his eyes. Sleep was a thing of the past these days, with Lord Voldemort trying to rebuild his army and the Order doing anything to stop him. Tracking Nora was all part of the plan. Nora Selwyn, her Healer's training, and her experience with Voldemort's first reign would be valuable assets in the War. It was just a matter of whose side she would choose.

********

1:30pm and no sign of Nora. Kingsley watched all morning as papers piled up on her desk. He overheard another secretary say "Lindsey" had left a message with the office the night before, explaining that she was feeling ill and wouldn't be into work today. Alarm bells went off in Kingsley's head. This was highly irregular. He'd watched her for nearly three months and she had shown up to the office on numerous occasions with a sickly pallor and a hoarse voice. She wasn't one to simply take a day off, of that he was sure. He thought of sending an owl to Dumbledore to alert him of the situation but thought better of it. There was no use involving Dumbledore in such a matter until he knew that something was amiss. The old man and the Order were far too busy these days to bother with a false alarm. Nora could actually be quite ill and recovering at home. He decided it best to ease his mind and find out for himself.

At 2:00, Kingsley slipped on his overcoat and made a quiet exit from the office. No one would miss him, and no one would sack him, either. Not when the Prime Minister himself seemed so adamant about keeping him in his position. He drove from the Downing Street deck to Nora's address, two miles north at 114 Cutler Drive, Flat 27G. He saw her car, a sleek black Jaguar, parked in its usual spot in front of the tall, imposing stone building. Kingsley swung around the block and parked his own car out of sight. He tucked his wand into his jacket as he approached the building, only to take it back out again to gain entry to the main lobby, careful to watch for nosy Muggles. He quickly crossed the marble-floored hall and took the lift up to the tenth floor.

As the lift ascended, Kingsley ran through his plan. He'd knock on Nora's door, of course, and if she answered, he'd tell her that she was needed in the office for some dire philanthropic emergency. He'd tried reaching her on her mobile but the call wasn't going through. He was heading home early, another secretary gave him the address, and he realized it was on his way to his own flat anyway. And if she didn't answer, well, he'd deal with that accordingly and send an owl off to Dumbledore as soon as he could.

Kingsley thought back to Nora's file, sitting on the passenger seat of his car. _Do not approach without sufficient supporting personnel and careful tactical planning._ The lift reached the tenth floor and the doors slid open, revealing a long carpeted hallway. Kingsley briefly considered going back down without checking on Nora on at all. This was dangerous. This was not an intelligent decision. But there was no time to assemble a team of Aurors to assist, not with hundreds of other Dark wizards running around England, terrorizing magical folk and Muggles alike. He was trained for just this type of situation.

Kingsley casually approached Nora's apartment but stopped dead in his tracks a few meters from the door. It was wide open, and shredded to bits. Wood splinters lay all across the carpet. The doorknob was dangling from its usual place. Kingsley immediately drew his wand and held it out in front of him. He stepped over the mess and peered into the flat. It was nearly pitch black.

" _Lumos_ ," he muttered. The tip of his wand burst into light. He slowly crossed the threshold and held the wand above his head so he could properly see. The flat was a shambles: furniture upturned, books and papers scattered, various belongings broken in two. Something horrible had happened to Nora Selwyn.

Kingsley continued to survey the apartment. There was no blood, but surely signs of a struggle. "Ms. Hart?" He hesitantly called out into the darkness. He stood in her hallway and waited. Had the neighbors heard anything? Was it worth interviewing them? How was he going to explain this to Dumbledore, to Scrimgeour? Was it Death Eaters? Had Voldemort gotten to her before the Order could? Kingsley was so distracted by the perplexity of the situation that when he rounded the corner with his wand raised, it took him a full five seconds to realize that a silver handgun was aimed at his forehead.

Nora Selwyn stared squarely into his eyes. He felt a sharp jab and knew immediately that she had a wand pointed directly into his chest. Kingsley watched as she pursed her lips and titled her head slowly to the left.

"I wasn't sure which one would frighten you more, so I'm using both."


	2. In Which Nora Shows Her Mark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of back story to the night the Potters died, and a little bit about Nora's relationship with Sirius right before he went to Azkaban and she disappeared.

31 October 1981. Sirius Black stands outside the gates of an aging stone manor, leaning against his motorbike. Arms crossed, he stares at the once-impressive house beyond. Ivy crawls up its speckled grey walls, half-obscuring it from view. He stands. He stares. He waits. He’s just sent an owl with a message to the house’s current occupant, one of several that he’s sent to her in the last two weeks. He knows she’s inside. He saw her briefly light a candle in one of the upper story windows at sundown before quickly snuffing it out. She’s there. He knows it.

It’s the perfect hideout for her, really, Sirius muses as he reaches down to brush some dirt off his boots. The house belonged to her Great-Grandmother Yaxley once, but had been left largely unoccupied for the last half-century or so. The Ministry wouldn’t think to look for her here, no. They were under the impression that she was on the run with her father and brother, also fugitives from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, somewhere in the south of Spain. Either that, or she was holed up on the Selwyn estate in Wales, where Sirius had observed Aurors staked out on more than one occasion in case of her return. The authorities didn’t know the Rochelle Yaxley Manor even existed, it was that long forgotten. But Sirius remembers. She’d taken him here when he first ran away from Grimmauld Place at 16, before the Potters so selflessly opened their home. “I come here when I’m not wanted either,” she’d whispered to him in the dark front hall that summer before pressing her lips against his.

The rustle of feathers catches Sirius’s attention. The owl flies at breakneck speed back down to his position on the dirt road, carrying a roll of parchment in its beak. It lands on Sirius’s arm and offers the message to him, and he quickly takes it from the bird. He unravels the parchment. At the top reads his message: “I know you’re inside. Come out so we can talk. Look out the window, it’s only me. -SB.” Written below it, her response, one word: “Leave.” Sirius scoffs lightly. The first time she’s responded to his countless messages in over a year, and she can’t even write him a complete sentence. He crumples the parchment and throws it to the ground. The owl, now sitting on one of the fence posts, hoots at him curiously. He crosses his arms again. He stares at the house. He waits.

An indeterminate amount of time passes. Sirius continues to wait. His mind races. He thinks of Peter Pettigrew and decides that perhaps he should go check up on him, he hasn’t heard from Peter in a while. At least Peter would answer his bloody door. Sirius stretches his arms above his head and yawns. He wonders why he even bothers with her anymore. She hasn’t written him in well over a year, not since she’d left him and the Order in a frenzy of lies and betrayal. You know why, he reminds himself as his chest briefly constricts. He rubs the space between his eyes and begins to study the patterns of pebbles on the road. Just as he decides it’s getting a bit too chilly and bit too dark to just be standing around doing nothing in the middle of nowhere, a faint _pop_  reaches his ears. He looks up, and there she is.

Nora Selwyn stands a few meters away from him, just behind the gate.  Her brown hair is pulled up on top of her head in a loose knot. She's wearing jeans with a black long-sleeved shirt, and she’s barefoot. _She looks good_ , Sirius thinks. He has a sudden vision of her at Hogwarts, sitting barefoot and crosslegged on the floor of the library, pouring over some book.

He’s startled by her sudden appearance, although it’s exactly what he’s been waiting for. He walks toward her. She doesn’t even blink. They study each other for a few moments.

“I told you to leave,” Nora speaks slowly without any hint of emotion in her voice. Her face is blank as well. _She looks tired_ , Sirius thinks.

“Since when do I listen to command?” Sirius counters.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Nora retorts quickly.

“Did you really kill fifteen people?” Sirius asks. He watches as her jaw tightens. She takes a step closer to the gate.

“You need to leave,” she says lowly.

“Did you kill all those people?” Sirius asks again. “Or did you only help the others do it? Maybe you just watched.”

“Do you enjoy yourself?” Nora spits back.

“You know, I heard some of those people were children. I heard they were tortured. I heard they—“ Sirius stops speaking as he watches Nora pull her wand from the waistband of her jeans. He laughs. “Go ahead. I dare you. Ten Aurors will be here within seconds to haul you away to Azkaban. Come on, let’s go then.”

“Oh please,” Nora nearly snorts. She’s pressed up against the gate now. Sirius moves closer on his side as well. “There’s far too many of us for those dimwits at the Ministry to keep track of. I wouldn’t be a big enough catch, not by a long shot. They wouldn’t waste manpower on me.”

“So why are you hiding all the way out here, then, eh?” asks Sirius.

“Why did you come here?” Nora demands, ignoring his inquiry, her wand still half-raised. Sirius doesn’t know how to answer her without sounding like he’s still in love with her, after all she’s put him through, after all they’ve put each other through. But it’s the truth, he realizes, as he studies her face for any sign of regret or remorse or anything at all. It’s only ever been her.

“Let me see it,” he says after a brief pause. He watches as her expression falters slightly before she reigns it back in again. Nora lowers her wand and peers through the gate at him. The night grows darker and he’s losing sight of her figure in the shadow of the fence.

“Let me see it,” he repeats. “Let me see it and I’ll leave.”

“How do you know I have it?” Nora asks. Sirius lowers his gaze to her left arm, covered by the sleeve of her shirt. She, too, glances down at her arm before looking back up at him. She tightens her jaw. “If I show it to you, will you really leave?”

Sirius lets out a short, breathy laugh. “I don’t believe for one second that he’d grace you with such an honor.”

Nora tucks her wand into the back of her waistband. She flexes her hands, both freely hanging at her sides now. She rotates her left forearm and reaches over to roll back her sleeve with her right hand.

And there it is. Sirius stares at the dark ink staining her pale, exposed skin. A snake slithering out from the wide mouth of a skull. Nora closes her left hand into a fist but doesn’t move to pull her sleeve back down. They stand together, in silence, her ornamentation between them like a great gulf.

“What happened to you?” Sirius asks slowly. He can’t take his eyes off the mark. He’s seen them in person dozens of times now, but this time, on her, it’s different somehow. It isn’t quite real.

“The world is changing, Sirius,” Nora says. He looks up at her suddenly. It’s the first time he’s heard his name drop from her mouth in over a year. “You picked the losing side.”

“Maybe,” Sirius almost whispers as he steps so close to the gate that he can feel the metal bars pressed against his chest. “But at least I picked the right one.”

Something dangerous flashes across Nora’s face. She pulls down her sleeve and out comes her wand again. Her eyes dart back and forth across the road, searching. “Did you bring them here?” She demands. “Did you bring the Order with you? Are there Aurors waiting on standby?”

Sirius leans his forehead against the metal gate and closes his eyes for a heartbeat before turning them once more on Nora. “No, no, I didn’t,” he says. She seems visibly relieved for a moment but then her face turns to stone. She takes a breath, but before she can say anything, Sirius abruptly catapults himself off the gate with his arms and starts walking backward toward his motorbike.

“Goodbye, Nora,” he says, his voice heavy in the night air. Nora squeezes her wand a bit tighter, still scanning the road for signs of anyone else. Sirius climbs back on his motorbike and without so much as a last glance back toward her, he disappears down the road and out of sight. She waits until the sound of the engine fades from her ears, and then with a crack, she retreats.

**********

Seven hours later, Nora stands outside a hallowed chamber of the Wizengamot. The Ministry is nearly on fire with activity, with people, with voices. Papers are fluttering through the air at lightning speed. Flashbulbs flicker violently. No one notices her.

People are shouting at the tops of their lungs. “You-Know-Who is dead! Long live Harry Potter! Death to the traitor Sirius Black!” Nora’s body is numb but her mind is racing. It’s over. The Potters are dead, but so is the Dark Lord. All around her, she sees her fellow comrades being dragged down hallways and behind doors by Aurors, screaming, cursing. But where is Sirius? She’s nearly frantic. She should have let him come into the house with her. She shouldn’t have let him leave like that. He came looking for her, he waited for her, and she struck him down without a second thought. Oh God, what has he done?

A booming voice looms over the crowded corridor. “There will be no trial!” The voice announces. People cheer. “Sirius Black will be sent to Azkaban prison for life!” Nora’s stomach lurches. She turns to get away from the crowd but runs smack into a tall, dark-robed man who catches her by the shoulders. He peers down at her with inquisitive eyes, and soon recognition washes over his face. Nora rips herself from his grasp and tears down the corridor as she hears the man shout, “It’s her! It’s one of them!” before his voice drowns with the others.

As she runs, Nora thinks of nothing but Sirius. Sirius. Sirius. All the letters she threw into the fire. All the times she thought about begging him to take her back. The first time she’d seen the Dark Lord’s face. The rush of adrenaline and pride. Images of the people she’s hurt. The look in his eyes when she’d shown him her mark.

What has she done, what has she done?


	3. Nora's Return

Kingsley wasn’t quite sure how to react. He could disarm her, of course. She probably hadn’t used her wand in many years and might be slow in her defense. But then there was the gun. Kingsley knew enough about Muggle weapons to know that he’d be no match for a bullet speeding toward his skull. He could try to reason with her, but judging by how steadily she was holding both the gun and her wand, she wouldn’t be too willing to discuss much of anything. The pair were posed rather comically in the dark hallway: Kingsley, with his wand still alight and held high in the air; and Nora, with a gun to his head and a wand to his chest.

“I’m surprised you still have your wand, Nora,” Kingsley told her. She smirked at the sound of her name.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, sir,” Nora responded. “My name is Ms. Lindsey J. Hart and I’m a secretary at 10 Downing Street. Now, I beg your leave, as I have other business to attend.”

“I am here on behalf of Albus Dumble—“

“DON’T say that name to me,” said Nora as she dug her wand deeper into Kingsley’s skin. He gave no indication that he was in pain. “Tell him you lost track of me. How long have you been following me, by the way? I only noticed you a few weeks ago.”

Kingsley ignored her questions. “The Order of the Phoenix—“

“Stop!” Nora shouted. “You know, you’re probably the worst Auror I’ve ever dealt with. Yesterday morning, I saw you inspect my car with your wand. What, old Albus has you protecting the Prime Minister and you thought you’d kill two birds with one stone? Thought you’d turn me in and get some sort of reward?”

Kingsley was silent as he studied Nora’s face. She was doing her best to remain stoic, but the longer their conversation lasted, the more wild and unrestrained her expression became. Pieces of this mysterious puzzle were slowly coming together in Kingsley’s mind.

“They’ve already gotten to you, haven’t they?” Kingsley asked. Nora’s tightly pursed lips relaxed and her mouth sagged. Bingo. She dropped her hand with the gun but kept her wand trained on his chest. Of course. The absence from work, the trashed flat. Death Eaters were trying to recruit her and she was running for her life.

“Yesterday I saw you going over my car with your wand, and then last night when I came home, there were two robed men standing in front of my door.” Nora explained. “One of them showed me their mark, but then my neighbor came out of his flat into the hallway and they ran. It’s all too much of a coincidence. I’m not safe here anymore.”

“Please,” said Kingsley. He slowly lowered his arm. “I’m not here to turn you in. I don’t want a fight.” Nora simply looked at him for a few moments, her wand still at the ready. She looked like she didn’t quite believe what he was saying. Her eyes started roaming around the dark flat behind Kingsley, searching for something.

“ _Expelliarmus!_ ” Kingsley shouted. Nora’s wand flew out of her hand. She raised the gun but Kingsley knocked it out of her hands and it clattered loudly to the floor. He grabbed Nora by the upper arms and pushed her further down the dark hall until her back collided with a wall. She began to fight back brazenly, smacking and kicking him.

“ _Stupefy!_ ” Nora’s body went limp and she fell sharply to the floor. “Incarcerous.” Shining black ropes emerged from Kingsley’s wand and quickly wrapped around her immobilized form. Kingsley let out a sigh as he bent down and slung Nora over his shoulder. He closed his eyes and with a _pop_ , the pair disappeared into thin air.

A moment later, Kingsley and his cargo arrived on the doorstep of 12 Grimmauld Place. He opened the front door and stepped inside of the long, dark hallway. He hoisted Nora’s body off his shoulder and placed her as gently as he could on the carpeted floor. “Hello?” He called out. Footsteps sounded from the kitchen and soon Remus Lupin appeared at the opposite end of the hall.

“My god, Kingsley,” Remus spoke, looking from Kingsley to Nora’s form on the floor, “I thought Dumbledore said just to talk to her?”

*********

“I don’t understand how this happened!”  
“What do you mean, he just brought her into the house?”  
“She shouldn’t even be here, traitorous scum.”  
“Just wait until Albus gets here. He’ll be beside himself.”  
“Has someone told Sirius?”

“People, please!” Kingsley shouted over the melee in the kitchen. Within minutes of his arrival with Nora, Remus had recalled all Order members to Headquarters for an emergency meeting. Most had already arrived and were now seated around the table, anxiously discussing among themselves the situation at hand. Dumbledore had sent word that he was en route. Nora, still stunned, was propped up at the head of the table, her binding ropes now anchoring her to a chair. Kingsley stood beside her, wand at the ready.

“I just really do not understand, Kingsley!” Molly Weasley, in a shrill voice, demanded of him. “She’s dangerous, why did you bring her here, where our children live?”

“When I approached her in her home, she gave me every reason to believe that she was fleeing,” Kingsley responded as calmly as possible. “Dumbledore gave me orders that I was to apprehend her at all costs. She is still a wanted criminal.”

“Sirius should be here,” Remus muttered as he left the table in search of his fugitive friend.

“Why was she approached at all, then?” Nymphadora Tonks piped up.

“Albus wants to protect her,” Severus Snape said slowly from his seat. “She’s a valuable asset.”

“But we already have you as our inside man, don’t we?” Tonks demanded. “Why do we need another one?”

“She has knowledge of Healing that we sorely lack,” reasoned Kingsley. “And if I didn’t take her when I did, the Death Eaters would have either murdered her or forced her to be a Healer on their side.”

“But she didn’t even graduate,” said Tonks in an exasperated tone. “Honestly, all this fuss over some Healer dropout. And what makes you think she’s going to take kindly to becoming a Healer on our side? Look, she’s one of them, she’s even got a mark!”

The discussion around the table was so heated that no one noticed as Remus returned with Sirius in tow. Sirius’s eyes immediately went toward Nora, slumped over in her chair. He took a seat at the far end of the table in silence and folded his hands under his chin. Remus joined Kingsley at the head of the table.

“Please, please,” he spoke. “Dumbledore will be here at any moment and we can discuss this further when he arrives.”

“And so the discussion may commence,” Albus Dumbledore appeared in the doorway. The conversation around the table died almost immediately. He walked to the front of the room, joining Remus and Kingsley. He looked at Nora and chuckled.

“Ah, Kingsley, I see our friend gave you some trouble?” He asked. Kingsley nodded. “Sit down and we’ll sort all of this trouble out.” Kingsley and Remus quickly joined their comrades at the table.

“Now, let’s see if we can do this in a polite and civilized manner.” Dumbledore spoke with a lilt in his voice. “ _Rennervate._ ”

Nora sat up suddenly in the chair. Her eyes flew open and she scanned the room with a confused expression. When she saw Dumbledore standing next to her, she started to furiously strain against the ropes holding her down. Dumbledore put a hand on her shoulder in an effort to calm her, but it only served to further enrage her. She wriggled violently, nearly knocking the chair over with her rapid movements. “What the bloody hell is going on?” She shouted.

“Ms. Selwyn, we’re here to offer you protection and ask of you—“

“Oh my god, where am I?” demanded Nora. “I don’t want anything to do with this! I left! I left! I was going to leave! Why couldn’t you just let me leave?” She spoke now to Kingsley, whom she had spotted halfway down the table. He could only stare back in response.

“Ms. Selwyn, please, I am aware that these are less than desirable circumstances but—“ Dumbledore tried to speak again.

“Let me go! Let me go!”

“Nora,” Sirius spoke as he stood up slowly from his seat. “Listen to him.”

Nora locked gazes with Sirius and for a long moment, the room was silent. She opened her mouth to speak but then quickly shut it again. Her eyes were wide and staring. She stopped moving in her restraints and her body was completely stiff. Sirius, too, looked as though every muscle in his body was locked in place as he hovered over the table. Dumbledore saw this exchange and smiled.

“Ah, Sirius,” he mused. “It seems she has not forgotten you after all.”


	4. A Bargain Is Struck

The kitchen at 12 Grimmauld Place had never been so quiet, at least not according to Sirius’s memory. And he had never felt so strongly the urge to leave its walls as he did right then, standing with his hands braced against the wooden table, jaw tensed and eyes locked with Nora Selwyn.

He couldn’t believe she was actually here. When Snape told the Order that Voldemort was trying to recruit her again, he’d nearly laughed. He had an even harder time containing his disbelief when he heard that Dumbledore actually wanted to look for her. “If she’s still anything like she was fifteen years ago, she’ll be impossible to find,” he’d told the old man. He thought of the countless times they’d snuck out of the castle while they were at Hogwarts, and all the ways she’d fooled her parents into thinking she was on holiday with friends when she was really holed up at the Potters’ house with him. She was a Slytherin, after all—cunning, resourceful, and ambitious as hell. No one was surprised when she was accepted to the Advanced Healing program and soon rose to the top of her class. And then the war came, and everything fall apart.

But for all her intelligence and capability, Kingsley still was able to track her down. And it was her own bloody fault. Kingsley and Dumbledore planted a story in the Daily Prophet about the sale of her great-grandmother’s estate, now that all members of the Yaxley-Selwyn family were either dead, imprisoned, or wanted for horrendous crimes. Three days later, Nora drove to the Rochelle Yaxley Manor in the dead of night, climbed out of her Muggle car, took a picture of the house with a Muggle camera, and drove away. A Department informant followed her back to London, undetected beneath a series of protection charms, and soon discovered that Nora Selwyn was now Lindsey Hart, Downing Street secretary and seemingly ordinary British citizen. Sirius was honestly shocked at how easily she was discovered. She’d never been one for sentiment. Maybe she’d softened after years on the run. Merlin knows he did. And now, standing just a length of a room away from her after fifteen years, he was beginning to see just how much had changed.

Nora looked older now, of course. The angles of her face were more defined than they were when she was a teenager. Ghosts of fine lines now appeared in the corners of her eyes, around her mouth, and across her forehead. Her brown hair, once halfway down her back, was now cropped close to her shoulders. She was thinner than he remembered. She was a grown woman, not the flirty young schoolgirl who told him he should wear his leather jacket more often because it made him look dangerous, and she liked that.

They were still staring at each other as Sirius took his seat again, wooden bench scraping loudly against the floor as he did so. He couldn’t quite read her expression. Shock, confusion, anger, fear. Her whole life was falling apart and it was written all over her face. He remembered how he felt when the Aurors came to arrest him in Godric’s Hollow, and when they told him there wasn’t going to be a trial, and when he sat in a cell on the rooftop of Hogwarts twelve years later, waiting for the Dementor’s Kiss. It was absolute hell. 

Dumbledore now spoke directly to Nora, but she wasn’t listening, and neither was Sirius. This was all too strange. The last time he saw her, she was on the run. And now they were both prisoners of some sort— he was trapped in this house, and she was under the temporary custody of Kingsley Shacklebolt and the Order of the Phoenix. 

“—but perhaps you would like to clean up and have a hot meal before discussing this matter further.”

“Let me go!” Nora shouted, looking away from Sirius and focusing on Dumbledore. She started to struggle against her restraints again, this time leaning forward against the ropes. Her hair fell in front of her face and stuck to her cheeks and forehead as she began to violently twist her body in the chair. Molly Weasley clutched her husband’s arm and Remus sighed loudly as he leaned his elbows on the tabletop. As Nora continued to thrash about, Sirius caught glimpses of the Dark Mark tattooed on her forearm, just below the cuffed sleeve of her white blouse. A few others in the room noticed the mark as well. Murmurs rose from the group around the table.

“Ms. Selwyn!” Dumbledore said in a stern, loud tone. The room fell silent again. “You now have two choices—well, three, actually.” Nora rolled her eyes before jerking her body once more against the ropes.

“We can let you go—“ Nora’s neck nearly snapped in half as she turned her head to look at Dumbledore.

“Fat chance!” Tonks shouted. Remus shushed her and Sirius briefly fought a smile.

“We can let you go,” Dumbledore continued. “You might last a few months, even a year. Our mutual friend Severus Snape informs me that Lord Voldemort is exceedingly anxious to see you again.”

Sirius watched with slight amusement as Nora’s eyes bulged. “Severus Snape?” Nora demanded. Her eyes flickered in Sirius’s direction. “Who else have you got hiding out here, then?”

Dumbledore ignored her. “Option two is going to the Ministry with Kingsley and standing trial for the crimes of which you are accused.”

“I don’t understand why that didn’t happen in the first place,” Nora spat and for a moment, Sirius saw the reactive young women he knew so well.

“So shall we go?” Kingsley asked. Nora turned her head to face him. She opened her mouth to speak but thought better of it as she closed it again.

“What’s my third option, then?” asked Nora, turning back to Dumbledore.

“Ah,” Dumbledore smiled as he folded his hands in front of him. “That is for a later discussion.”

Nora twisted and turned several times before kicking her leg in the air. Her face was flushed from her exertions. Sirius continued to watch her, conflicted emotions swimming through his brain. There she was, after all this time. So close and yet so far. He was happy she was alive, but just looking at her was beginning to remind him of the past, of James and Lily. He felt just the same as he did whenever he looked at Harry—elated and crushed in the same instant. But was he really happy? Yes, Nora is alive. She’s alive and she clearly had second thoughts about rejoining the Death Eaters because otherwise, she wouldn’t have been in her flat when Kingsley came to check on her. She would have been long gone. But what did it all mean?

Nora’s contorting body finally came to a rest. She lolled her head back and looked up at the ceiling, clearly exasperated. Then she sat up straight again and surveyed the room, her eyes lingering on Sirius just long enough to make his chest constrict in a way he hadn’t felt in years. Nora looked up at Dumbledore and inhaled deeply before opening her mouth to speak.

“I’ll only talk to him,” Nora said slowly. Sirius’s stomach dropped as most of the people in the room turned their eyes toward him. He glanced at Remus and swore he saw a bemused smile on his old friend’s face.

Dumbledore let out a light chuckle. “Kingsley, Tonks, if you wouldn’t mind escorting our guest upstairs, then perhaps we can arrange something.” 

And with that, the two Aurors rose from their seats and readjusted Nora’s restraints so that she was free from the chair, but still tightly bound. She remained absolutely still as both Kingsley and Tonks took hold of one of her shoulders and began to lead her from the room, her shuffling feet scraping against the stone floors. Sirius dared another glance at her as she passed him, but she only stared straight ahead. The odd trio soon exited and disappeared into the dark hallway beyond.

The room burst into a staccato of angry voices as the tension from Nora’s presence was lifted. Sirius stood from his seat once more and looked down the table at Dumbledore only to find that the old man had somehow slipped from the room. This was never part of the plan. Not that Dumbledore had actually shared his plan for Nora with any Order members. Sirius heard Remus trying to grab his attention but he was too overwhelmed to process anything going on around him. He felt the urge to run but knew he had nowhere else to be but right here, in his parents’ house, with Nora Selwyn a few flights of stairs away. Suddenly Molly Weasley was at his side, pressing her hand onto his shoulder.

“Sirius, you’ve got to do something! It’s your house, after all!” She practically shouted into his ear. The noise in the room had reached a deafening volume that not even Dumbledore could contain. Sirius nodded in acknowledgement of Molly as she flitted back to her husband, who looked as though he might vomit from all the commotion in the kitchen. Sirius made to leave the scene as quickly as possible but Remus stopped him at the doorway.

“What are we going to do?” asked Remus.

“I haven’t a clue,” Sirius responded.

Remus stepped aside and let him pass, but followed him out into the hallway. “You’re really going to let him keep her here?” He demanded. “After all she’s done?”

Sirius didn’t look back at Remus as he ascended the staircase and retreated into his mind, as he did often during his time in Azkaban to keep himself sane. When the world is falling down around you, it’s best not to look outside.


End file.
